Tell Me a Tarot Story
By Geraldine Amaral
(How to Use the Tarot Images to Write Your Story)
Are you ready to spark your creative juices in an entirely new and innovative way? Do you think you have a story to tell, but need help getting it started? If you answer yes to either of these questions, this article is for you!
The 78 cards in the Tarot deck can provide us with all sorts of assistance. They help us brainstorm solutions to problems; provide both spiritual and earthly guidance to ourselves and to others; help us sort out the patterns in our problems; raise our personal energy through meditation on a card; the list goes on. The cards of the Tart can also be used to ignite our creative fires. For example, the Tarot can provide structure, characters, plot, conflict and other details to a story.
But let’s start small. Choose any Major Arcana Tarot card at random or with intention (see list below). The 22 cards of the Major Arcana typically portray the main themes in your spiritual journey, the cosmic forces operating in life or the more intense energies of life. They depict the mysteries of life that are the most challenging and the most complex to understand (like death or defining your spirituality). The card that you select, therefore, shows you those cosmic or psychological forces that are operating in your life and indicates what you need to know or be aware of about your life at this time. It also contains the seeds for a story.
Now, take a moment and imagine that the figure in your card has a secret. What is that secret? Look at the figure closely and tell yourself one other fact about him/her. If you are having trouble with this, just make something up! Or pretend that your figure is a character in a child’s fairytale and explain his role in the tale. Just by answering these simple questions, you have tapped into your imagination and have experienced using an image to help create a story. Good work!
Your Inner Mentor
Calculating your “current year” card is a common tool in tarot readings. However, in this case, we will use this technique to help you access your creativity. To determine your current year card, add the date of your birth to the current year. Then take the individual integers of this sum and reduce it to its lowest number. For example, if your birthday is March 2, you would calculate your current year card as follows:
3 + 2 + 2005 = 2010 2 + 0 + 1 + 0 = 3
In this case, the current year card is Key number 3 or The Empress. The current year card reveals the themes, lessons, and overall framework for that current year. It alerts you how best to focus your energies and resources for the year ahead. In this case, the Empress year is a year of creativity, fertility, imagination or inspiration. The Empress symbolizes Mother Nature, resting on her throne. Therefore, The Empress Year could be about nurturing, hearth and home, nesting, creation, artistic abilities or love.
However, for our purposes, you can also think of this card as your “Inner Mentor” and use it to help stimulate and release your creativity. There are several ways to access those resources within, which I am referring to as the Inner Mentor. You can have a conversation with your Inner Mentor that will help you advance your creativity. Ask him or her for ideas, ask him or her for help and guidance, and ask to be shown what you need to do. In the process that follows, you will learn to use this image to signal the unconscious mind that it is time to enter that altered state of consciousness in which the creative memory is more readily available. Tarot is a brainstorming and creativity tool and you can condition yourself to associate this card with entering a creative state of mind. You will see that once you associate this card with your own Inner Mentor, that part of you that is wise, creative and resourceful, new ideas will begin to flow. We want to “program” our psyche so that this card is associated with that resourceful state. With the help of this card, you will be able to access this resource on demand. Carry this card with you throughout the day. Look at it from time to time. It will link you to your creativity. Relate it to a key phrase if that helps, you will automatically enter your creative state. You can even add a ritual if you want – shuffle the cards, light a candle, hold a crystal, say a prayer or affirmation, or call upon your angelic guides.
The Release Process
The first step to take in order to communicate with your Inner Mentor is to do a quick release process. Take a blank sheet of paper and scribble all over it. Write the word “release” or anything that you think might be in the way of expressing your creativity. Truly let yourself go and release through scribbling! Close your eyes and think about any psychic baggage that you may be holding onto and release it through your pen and hand. Once you have released, you may want to say a short prayer or meditation, such as: God, Spirit, Universe, I call upon the most creative source to guide my writing and write through my hands. Thank you. Amen.
Learning to Listen
As strange as it may sound, writing is about listening. I will say this again! Writing is about listening. It is about learning to listen to your own inner voice and intuition. Therefore, take some time to become quiet, to refocus; be open and flexible. The universe has an abundance of signs and messages and the Tarot is simply a vessel for receiving those messages. Ideas and universal messages truly are everywhere. The collective unconscious, the mind of the Creator, the creative force, whatever you want to call it, is an endless and infinite source of creative energy. As a conduit to the unconscious, the pack of Tarot cards is a wonderful example of this vast creative reservoir of ideas within. The Tarot makes it easy for these messages to be accessible to anyone. Listen to the Cosmos, let the Tarot images channel the story to be told.
Now that you have completed the release process described above, take your card, do some breathing and in a moment you will be “speaking” with your mentor. Begin by breathing and closing your eyes. If it feels right, call upon your Guardian Angel, your Spirit Guide or an Ascendant Master, or any powerful being that comes from the mind of God/Goddess to come forth to help. You can visualize light coming to you from God -- this is God’s light of inspiration, imagination and creativity and it is raising your vibration to the realm of spirit. Accept and allow God’s light and inspiration to help you be creative and brainstorm ideas. Allow the unconditional love of God to flow through you. Be sure and express your gratitude for the help given to you as well.
Stream of Consciousness Writing
As you answer these questions, write from your own “stream of consciousness.” Do not analyze what you are writing. Do not censor at all; just listen to what your mentor has to say. Don’t evaluate what you are writing and don’t worry about grammar, punctuation, capital letters and the like. It is also a good idea to experiment with new behaviors to ensure that you access a different part of your brain. For example, try writing with your non-dominant hand. Or write the question with your dominant hand, and answer with the non-dominant hand. You could also try doing your writing in a completely new or unusual spot, such as the bathtub or in the woods. The idea is to shake things up so that your “business-as-usual” creative mind is enlarged.
Speaking to the Inner Mentor
Now, take your Inner Mentor card and spend a few quiet moments looking at it. When you are ready, here are the questions to ask your Mentor:
1. Take a nice deep breath, and say out loud: “I want to contact the creative, intuitive, bountiful resource within. I would like to speak to the mentor, please.”
2. Please give me a key word for today that might be helpful to my writing or creative project.
3. What personal message do you need to deliver to me about my writing, my creativity or this project?
4. Please give me a symbol that I can use if I ever need protection or when I am feeling frustrated with my writing or creativity. What does this symbol represent?
5. How will you help me write my story, develop my project, expand my creativity?
6. How can I help you? Is there anything you need from me?
7. What do I need to do for myself right now in order to access my boldest creativity?
Take your time with this, it can be a powerful process. This needn’t (and shouldn’t) be a one-time activity. Remember that you can pull out your Inner Mentor Tarot Card whenever it is time to fan that creative inspiration.
The Story Teller Spread
With your Mentor’s help you are now ready to use the Tarot for a more in-depth storytelling experience. Begin by separating all 78 Tarot cards into three piles, the 22 Major Arcana, the 14 Court Cards and the remaining 40 Minor Arcana. The Court Cards will be used for the creation of the main character or hero. The Major Arcana represents the themes of your story. The rest of the deck (the Minor Arcana) shows you the action line of the story. The spread will help you plot your readings and provide a structure for your Tarot story. Using Tarot for story telling is a great way to get help in writing a story, but also a good way to get to know the cards and their various interpretations. In the spread below, as you use the cards to tell a story, the meaning that you ascribe to the card will determine the next step in the story.
A Tarot Story Spread
By Geraldine Amaral
The process of using the Tarot to help you create a story begins like a reading. Take your deck in your hand, shuffle and focus on your breathing. Ask for inspiration from the Source . . . however you conceive it. Remember this: if you let go, try not to think about this process, the cards will tell the story for you. Once you have blessed and/or shuffled your deck, you will choose 7 cards as follows:
1 The Hero/Heroine of the Story 2 Theme of the Story
3 Past Influences 4 The Conflict/Challenge
5 An Ally 6 The Future
7 The Resolution
The Beginning of the Story: The first card (Choose from the Court Cards) represents the main character in your story (the hero/heroine). Hints: Does he/she have a name? What is it? What is the hero’s overall mood as the story begins? Where does the story begin? What is happening to the hero/heroine?
The second card shows you the theme or moral of the story. Choose this card from the Major Arcana.
The Conflict/Plot:
The third card represents aspects from the past that are influencing his/her current thinking/behaving. These could be either negative influences or positive influences. It could be a specific person or an inner aspect of the hero/heroine. Choose from any of the cards.
The fourth card represents the challenge or block facing the hero/heroine. Hints: Who or what are the adversaries that get in the way of the hero’s success? What challenges must the hero face in order to succeed? What will the hero have to confront or embrace during this story? Choose from any of the cards.
The fifth card represents what can help the hero/heroine. Hint: Is it another person? Or are there characteristics of the hero/heroine that need to be transformed in order for the hero to meet the challenge? Choose from any of the cards.
The Climax/Resolution/Denouement:
The sixth card shows you the future, how the story will evolve and develop. Hint: What happens next to the hero/heroine? Choose from any of the cards.
The final card shows you how the story gets resolved or ends. It may tell you of a defining moment in the hero’s life. Hint: Will the Hero live differently from this point on? Does some part die? Is some part reborn? If so what? Who is there with the hero at the end, what is the final outcome? Choose from the Major Arcana cards.
These are guidelines, not hard and fast rules. Feel free to add cards for each category of the spread and experiment with spreads of your own.
Creativity is Transferable
Remember that creativity is transferable. By that I mean, any act of creation can translate to your writing. If you are stuck with your writing, do something else such as sewing, woodworking, model boat building, carpentry work, gardening, knitting, painting, drawing, singing, cooking, dancing – anything that is an act of creation. Creativity begets creativity. The storyteller spread and the dialoguing with your Inner Mentor are direct channels to your creativity. The spark that gets ignited in these exercises will catch on fire and your story will be revealed. Enjoy the journey.
Major Arcana Defnitions
The Fool - 0: Fresh energy, new possibilities, unlimited possibilities; naiveté, immaturity; point of choice or decision
The Magician - I: Concentration; focused attention; manifestation; originality, creativity; invention; self-confidence
High Priestess - II: Intuition; hidden information; inner knowledge; sound judgment; unconscious wisdom; guardian of the truth; intuitive wisdom, psychic ability
Empress - III: Fertility, abundance; creativity; motherhood, feminine influence; the Great Mother; the creative spark
Emperor - IV: Authority; reason; organization; worldly power; stability; masculine influence; leadership, logic
Hierophant V: Belief system; spiritual gateways; higher laws; inspiration; religious or spiritual leader; dogma, convention, formal rituals
The Lovers VI: Point of decision or choice; love, harmony, trust; sex, but with a spiritual implication; inner resolution of conflicts, “marriage” within oneself
The Chariot - VII: Success and victory but only through diligence; overcoming adversity through personal responsibility and the will; determination, perseverance
Strength - VIII: The gentle path towards power; forgiveness and compassion; strength, courage, conviction; spiritual courage; “taming” one’s wild side, accepting one’s shadow
The Hermit - IX: Wisdom and counsel, especially spiritual in nature; meditation; vigilance; spiritual growth in solitude or quiet; search for inner light; spiritual healing; finding one’s own inner spiritual guidance
Wheel of Fortune - X: The cycles of life; the course of events; the end of one cycle, start of another; good or bad luck, depending on nearby cards; allows you to see the “big picture”; may help in “reframing” life experiences; finding center of serenity no mater what is occurring externally
Justice - XI: Absolute fairness, total impartiality; reasonableness; proper balance; just reward; exact numerical center of Major Arcana cards; personifies the “law of reciprocity”
The Hanged Man - XII: Seeing from a new angle; transitionary period; reversal of the mind in a particular matter or way of life; a new and different perspective
Death - XIII: Change; transformation; release of old, making way for new; end of a familiar or comfortable mode; purification; paradox
Temperance - XIV: Successful combinations; harmonious blending of forces; moderation, self-control
The Devil - XV: Enslavement or bondage by false ideas and illusions; spiritual lack or depravity; personification of the “shadow”; negative or destructive life patterns
The Tower - XVI: Awakening; revolution; shattered misconceptions; complete, sudden change; unexpected events; might be “bolt of lightening” because of pride, arrogance or egocentricity; painful progress; a breakthrough of some kind
The Star - XVII: Guiding intelligence; change for the better; hope, promise, optimism, faith; being open and vulnerable; unconditional self acceptance
The Moon - XVIII: Things that are hidden; illusions; obscurity; deceit, false beliefs; misperceptions and misunderstandings; breakdown in communications or perceptions; subterfuge, hidden agenda
The Sun XIX: Source of life; liberation; attainment; truth; happiness; warmth, healing, joy; contentment; devotion; pleasure derived from simple things Judgment -
XX: Breaking out of limited thinking or restrictions; limited by past, but not bound by past; ability to tune in to appropriate course of action; implementing your action plan; need to forgive or atone for past mistakes; rejuvenation, rebirth, renewal; immortality or resurrection
The World XXI: Crystallization; the fullness or the apex; the perfect niche; harmonious synchronicity; completion; success; fulfillment; synthesis